I am posting this blog in early January. Spring starts on Thursday, March 20, just over 70 days away. There are a lot of chores to do this month. For a good reason, January is National Garden Catalogue Month. The colder winter days of January are an excellent time to sit down and write down … Read more
EXPLORING PLANTS NATIVE TO VIRGINIA My native plant highlight for this month is DOELLINGERIA umbellata, commonly known as the Parasol Whitetop Aster. I picked this native because of its late summer/fall blooming time. This beautiful native plant symbolizes fall here in Central Virginia. Parasol Whitetop is an upright grower with narrow oval leaves and clusters … Read more
DIVIDE IRISES EVERY FEW YEARS Here we are in late July in Virginia. If your irises are like mine, they’re starting to go dormant from the summer heat and showing yellow foliage. Now is the perfect time to divide your irises. These popular garden perennials need dividing every few years to prevent overcrowding, which reduces … Read more
What to Do About Controlling the Damage It’s late June here in Central Virginia, and all of us have done a lot of new planting of shrubs, trees, annuals, vegetables, and perennials. In doing all this planting, what we did was to lay out the best smorgasbord of food for various insects. The BIG question … Read more
JUNE 1 IS THE “UNOFFICIAL” START TO SUMMER May ended up being a very good month for gardeners. We had good, timely rainfall throughout the entire month. We had no late frosty night,s and we did not have many extremely hot days. So, May was good to us. The soil temperature here in Virginia is … Read more
WE HAVE WATER PLANTS NOW! Water plants represent yet another form of landscaping. Yes, it is not for everyone. But more and more homeowners are accenting their existing landscape with a water feature. This feature doesn’t have to be large. You can start small and then “grow” and expand your water feature as you get … Read more
ARE YOU READY? Here we are in mid-April. I carefully watch our weather and our extended forecast to correctly advise customers on vegetable gardening. With Virginia weather consistently breaking now (fingers crossed), many Virginians are turning their attention, once again, to vegetable gardening. I am writing this blog on April 11th. Every day, I tell … Read more
Happy April! Recently, we held our popular MULCH MADNESS sale at The Great Big Greenhouse in Richmond, VA, with thousands of bags flying off the shelves—just in time for prime mulching season. Spring brings not only fresh blooms but also that fresh, earthy smell of mulch that signals new growth. Proper mulching is essential for … Read more
Spring is in the air, and so is the scent of lavender. For many of you, lavender is an all-time favorite perennial. For others, growing it can be challenging and frustrating. Lavender Throughout History Here’s a little historical background on this popular plant. Lavender has been used for thousands of years, dating to ancient Greeks … Read more
Try These Plants and Turn Your Brown Thumb Green February is houseplant month for The Great Big Greenhouse in Richmond, and we pride ourselves on the selection of houseplants that we carry. We have a houseplant for you. Some houseplants are easier to care for than others. Success with houseplants starts with choosing the right … Read more
